All purpose Footwear

ABSTRACT

An all season footwear apparatus encompassing a flexible body member comprising an upper body portion and a lower body portion, wherein the flexible lower body portion comprises a boot heel and a boot sole piece. The apparatus also comprises a flexible retainer mechanism disposed outwardly on said flexible body member and designed to coexist with the flexible body member so as to for a cuff and render the flexible retainer mechanism invisible to the naked eye.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a new boot construction method. Morespecifically, the present invention relates to an invisible zipper bootconstruction providing an enhanced comfort fit enabling adaptation to avariety of different weather conditions with a rubber sole and slightheel for both casual and formal wear.

2. Description of the Related Art

The fashion industry has been producing different variations of bootsfor the last three decades, and has continually strived for the rightbalance of fashion and comfort. Individuals and companies have employeddiffering variations of fabric and style, but have yet to achieveconstruction of a lightweight transitional all season shoe or boot.Retail stores currently offer a spring/summer selection of footwear thatis generally limited to leather or canvas shoes, along with athleticshoes and sandals. Further, these same retail stores offer a fall/winterselection that is limited to heavyweight athletic shoes and heavy suedeor leather winter boots. There are no stylish lightweight alternativefor early fall weather conditions.

Footwear developed for winter and cold weather conditions is generallyknee-high and of a stiffer stature, thus not allotting flexibility orversatility, and subsequently far too heavy to wear in the spring andsummer into early fall, especially with a dress or skirt. On the otherhand, the calf-high boots designed for spring/summer lack the style towear in more formal settings and are generally designed for casual wear.Further, the majority of footwear on the market that encroaches abovethe ankle and on to the legs of a user are routinely stationary and donot allow for changes in style. The few designers that offer thisflexibility have exposed zippers and/or laces that many people findunflattering and/or undesirable.

It is also conventionally recognized that certain knee-high ladies bootsare constructed from continuous elastomeric fabric along a standardizedcalf-region thereby allowing a user to grip a top member of a boot-toprim and pull upwardly away from a user's heal allowing the boot top tofit in place. Unfortunately, constructions involving elastomeric calfregions provide a number of detriments to ultimate user comfort, longwear, and adaptability to differing user physical shapes. Additionally,such constructions necessarily originate with a defined “common-shape”construction that also necessarily leaves out members of the populacewho have particularly large, narrow, or distending calf-shapes. Further,because of the stiff and rigid nature of knee-high boots people shy awayfrom purchasing them in fear of not being able to wear them on a varietyof occasions.

Further, boots currently on the market that are designed to becomfortable and worn for casual occasions are limited to flat soles. Theboots that do have heels are generally much more rigid because of thebelief it provides more support. Further, the calf-high boots on themarket that do contain heel have an exposed zipper and are generallymade out of polyester. These designs and materials are neitherfashionable nor comfortable and are not designed for less formalsettings. In summary, investigation of these disclosed devicesillustrates that presently, there is no singular footwear known in theart that meets the requirements stated herein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The instant invention, as illustrated herein, is clearly notanticipated, rendered obvious, or even present in any of the prior artmechanisms, either alone or in any combination thereof. A primary objectof the present invention is to provide footwear that is warmer than asandal, lighter than a boot, more stylish than a sneaker, and morecomfortable than a shoe.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a zipper boot thatis an alternative to summer and winter weather footwear.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a zipper footwearconstruction that allows for the adaptive use wearing the footwear aseither cuffed or un-cuffed while providing a pleasing outer appearance.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a zipper bootconstruction that preserves an attractive boot-appearance when in acuffed position as comfort or style demands.

It is another objective of the present invention to provide a boot thatis lightweight with a durable outer area for cooler weather conditions,but still fashionable.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a small heel ona boot that can be worn in both formal and casual settings, yet becomfortable.

Another objective is to provide a sleek and versatile alternative touncomfortable heals and ugly athletic shoes.

The instant invention, as described further herein, relates to aninvisible zipper boot construction which provides an enhancedcomfort-fit for a user and a ready adaptation of the boot to a varietyof different of styles of wear. A top half, invisible zipper allows theusers to easily slide the boot on while also providing the ability touse the upper portion zipper to provide additional leg receptive space.Securing the zipper secures the boot in position. After the boot issecured in position, the user zips the zipper to an optimal comfort-fitposition on their calf. The zipper is positioned where it is for bothfunctional and design reasons. The instant invention as illustratedherein, is clearly not anticipated, rendered obvious, or even present inany of the prior art mechanisms, either alone or in any combinationthereof.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more importantfeatures of the all purpose footwear in order that the detaileddescription thereof that follows may be better understood, and in orderthat the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.There are additional features of the invention that will be describedhereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claimsappended hereto.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of theinvention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited in its application to the details of construction and to thearrangements of the components set forth in the following description orillustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways.Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminologyemployed herein are for the purpose of description and should not beregarded as limiting.

These together with other objects of the invention, along with thevarious features of novelty, which characterize the invention, arepointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming apart of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention,its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses,reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptivematter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of theinvention

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the followingdetailed description of exemplary embodiments thereof, which descriptionshould be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates a left side view of the boot of the instant inventioncomprising, a sole and an upper body portion attached to the sole;

FIG. 2 illustrates a right side view of the instant boot member having aflexible body, said flexible body including an upper body portion and alower body portion, said flexible lower body portion comprising a bootheel and a boot sole piece;

FIG. 3 illustrates a front side view of upper portion further definingan open instep region including a zipper attachment disposed along thetop front half of the portion of the upper body;

FIG. 4 illustrates a rear side view of upper portion further defining anopen instep region including a zipper attachment disposed along the topfront half of the portion of the upper body; and,

FIG. 5 illustrates a left side view of the instant boot illustrating thehidden zipper embodiment due to the flexible folded mechanism.

FIG. 6 illustrates a left side view of the instant boot illustrating thetoe guard and end of the hidden zipper embodiment due to the flexiblefolded mechanism.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a shoe or boot 1 comprising, a sole or sole piece 3and an upper body portion 2 attached to the sole or sole piece 3. Theupper body portion 2 defines a volume for receiving a wearer's foot.FIG. 2 illustrates a boot body member 1 having a flexible body, saidflexible body including an upper body portion 2 and a lower body portion5, said flexible lower body portion carrying a boot heel 4 and a bootsole piece 3. FIG. 3 illustrates the upper portion 2 further defining anopen instep region 2 including an invisible zipper attachment 6 disposedalong the top front half of the portion of the upper body 2.

FIG. 3 further illustrates a zipper 6 imbedded within said flexible bodymember, extending downwardly a distance from a top edge of said upperbody portion 2 to a position just above the toe guard. In fully opencondition, the zipper 6 enables user leg entry access to said bodymember; and a one and one-half to one and three quarter inch low heel 4that extends from the back portion of the boot in order to enable asmall amount of height to the user.

FIG. 1 further illustrates a boot structure 1 with a zipper 6 extendsdownwardly longitudinally of the boot 1 structure and parallel to thefront of a user's leg. FIG. 1 illustrates a boot 1 structure with whichsaid upper portion 2 constitutes a flexible member is of a naturalmaterial in which said natural material is a soft, breathable, quiltedcotton material. FIG. 1 illustrates a boot 1 structure in which thetop-half portion zipper 6 enables the top half of said boot 1 structureto be turned down and into a two inch convertible cuff 7. FIG. 1 furtherillustrates a boot 1 structure in which the inner fabric matches in bothcolor and style the outer fabric to allow for a seamless transitionbetween the full length boot and the convertible cuff 7.

FIG. 1 illustrates a boot 1 structure in which a toe guard 8 to protectthe toes of a human foot from externally imposed forces, said toe guardin communication with the sole piece 3. The toe guard 8 may beconstructed from the same flexible robust polymeric materials (such asrubber) as the sole piece 3, including a variety of polymers or evencomposite materials such as, but not limited to, carbon fiber systems.

FIG. 1 also illustrates a boot 1 structure wherein said toe guard 8 isdisposed to match the rubber sole 5 of the boot in color and material.As illustrated in FIG. 2 the boot structure 1 includes an upper bodyportion 2 and a lower body portion 5; providing said lower body portion5 with a boot heel 4, a boot toe guard 8 and a boot sole piece 3;providing said body member with a first zipper 7 extending downwardlyfrom a top edge of said body upper portion 2 to a terminus locationabove the toe guard 8 of said upper portion 2, said zipper 7 and asshown in FIG. 3. In the fully open condition 2 as said body memberenabling user leg entry access to said body member; and providing saidbody member the ability to turn the top portion of boot structure 1 intoa convertible cuff enabling user both different comfort and styleoptions. FIG. 1 illustrates a boot structure 1 wherein said bootstructure 1 narrows at the base and the toe comes to point for sleeknessand is quilted with distinctive diagonal contrast stitching.

FIG. 4 illustrates a rear side view of upper portion further defining anopen instep region including a zipper attachment disposed along the topfront half of the portion of the upper body.

FIG. 5 illustrates a left side view of the instant boot illustrating thehidden zipper embodiment due to the flexible folded mechanism and thecuff mechanism 9 of the upper portion in the hidden zipper position.

FIG. 6 illustrates a left side view of the instant boot illustrating thetoe guard 21 and lower end point 20 of the hidden zipper embodiment dueto the flexible folded mechanism.

1. A lightweight transitional all season shoe comprising: a lower baseportion comprising an angular rear portion, wherein said base portionwhich does not contact a human foot; a retaining portion incommunication with said lower base portion, said retaining portiondisposed to cover and protect a human foot; a substantially flexible andsubstantially cylindrical upper portion in communication with said baseportion, said substantially flexible and substantially cylindrical upperportion disposed to cover and protect a human ankle; and, a closuremechanism disposed substantially longitudinally, commencing at thetopmost segment of said upper portion of said substantially flexible andsubstantially cylindrical upper portion and extending to an upperportion of said retaining portion.
 2. The lightweight transitional allseason shoe of claim 1 wherein said substantially flexible andsubstantially cylindrical upper portion may be wrapped over to coversaid closure mechanism zipper.
 3. The lightweight transitional allseason shoe of claim 1 further comprising a soft, breathable, fabric. 4.The lightweight transitional all season shoe of claim 3 wherein saidsoft, breathable, fabric is selected from the group consisting ofquilted cotton, brocade, satin and nylon.
 5. The lightweighttransitional all season shoe of claim 1 further comprising a toe guardmechanism.
 6. The lightweight transitional all season shoe of claim 5wherein said toe guard mechanism and said lower base mechanism comprisethe same material.
 7. The lightweight transitional all season shoe ofclaim 1 wherein said substantially flexible and substantiallycylindrical upper portion comprises diagonal contrast stitching.
 8. Thelightweight transitional all season shoe of claim 1 wherein saidsubstantially flexible and substantially cylindrical upper portioncomprises a convertible cuff mechanism.
 9. A boot comprising: a soleportion; an upper attached to said sole portion, wherein said upperdefines a volume for receiving a wearer's foot, the upper furtherdefining an open instep region including a invisible zipper attachmentdisposed along the top front half of the portion of the upper; a bootbody member having a flexible body, said flexible body including anupper body portion and a lower body portion, said flexible lower bodyportion carrying a boot heel and a boot sole piece; a zipper locatedwithin said flexible body member extending downwardly a distance from atop edge of said upper body portion two inches, said zipper in fullyopen condition on said body member enabling user leg entry access tosaid body member; and a heel comprising a height in the range of one andone-half to one and three quarter inch, said heel that extending fromthe back portion of the boot.
 10. The boot of claim 9, wherein saidzipper extends downwardly in a longitudinal disposition of the bootstructure and parallel to the front of said user's leg.
 11. The boot ofclaim 9, wherein said flexible member is of a natural material.
 12. Theboot of claim 11, wherein said natural material is a soft, breathable,quilted cotton material.
 13. The boot of claim 12, wherein a top-halfportion zipper enables the top half of said boot structure to be turneddown and into a two inch convertible cuff.
 14. The boot of claim 13wherein an inner fabric matches in both color and style as the outerfabric to allow for a seamless transition between the full length bootand the convertible cuff.
 15. The boot of claim 9, further comprising atoe guard to protect the toes of a human foot from externally imposedforces.
 16. The boot of claim 15, wherein said toe guard comprises amaterial identical to that of the sole.
 17. The boot of claim 9 whereinsaid boot narrows at the sole portion and forms a point.
 18. The boot ofclaim 9 wherein said boot is quilted with distinctive diagonal contraststitching.
 19. A boot comprising a hidden retainer mechanism comprising:a boot body member comprising a flexible body, said flexible bodyincluding an upper body portion and a lower body portion, said flexiblelower body portion carrying a boot heel and a boot sole piece; aflexible retainer mechanism disposed outwardly on said flexible bodymember and extending downwardly a distance from a top edge of said upperbody portion to a terminus location thereof proximal above said solepiece, said retainer mechanism in fully open condition on said bodymember enabling user leg entry access to said body member, said retainermechanism being zipped to full closure position to secure the boot tosaid user calf and an upper portion of said body and said flexible bodyrolled to create a cuff in order to cover said retainer mechanism.